C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 VILNIUS 000093
SIPDISSIPDISE.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018
TAGS: PGOVPRELMOPS AMGT EINVOIIPLH
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA: PURSUING THE U.S. AGENDA
REF: A. 07 VILNIUS 164
Â¶B. 06 VILNIUS 53
Classified By: Ambassador John Cloud for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
Â¶1. (C) SUMMARY/INTRODUCTION: One year ago, we laid out a
plan to engage the Lithuanian government strategically to
support key U.S. objectives, especially in mobilizing the
government to support the Global War on Terror and to promote
democracy in the former Soviet Union. With PM Gediminas
Kirkilas' government now holding a (slim) majority and
parliamentary elections coming up this fall (and presidential
elections Spring 2009) we examine our progress to date and
provide a plan to further advance our bilateral agenda in
Â¶2008. End Summary/Introduction.
Â¶2. (C) In the past year, Embassy Vilnius has engaged
intensively with the government on the issues that matter to
us the most. We succeeded in convincing Lithuania to
re-deploy a platoon to Iraq and to continue its PRT and SOF
deployments in Afghanistan. Lithuania continues to work
effectively to promote our democracy agenda in Belarus,
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. We regularly press the
government to move forward on difficult post-Holocaust issues
and to improve the investment climate. The Ambassador met
during the past year with every Cabinet member, and
frequently consults with key decision makers, including
President Adamkus, PM Kirkilas, Foreign Minister Vaitiekunas,
and Defense Minister Olekas. Our ministry-specific work
plans guide mission interactions with government leaders, and
we track progress on the issues that matter to U.S. interests.
Â¶3. (C) Broadly speaking, our mission priorities are the same
as in recent years:
-- Support for U.S. initiatives within Europe and beyond
-- Support for democracy at home and abroad
-- Closer U.S.-Lithuanian economic ties
-- Bilateral law enforcement cooperation
-- Increasing public support for U.S. positions
-- Improving embassy operating conditions
In contributing to global security and promoting democracy,
Lithuania has consistently supported U.S. positions.
However, within the EU, Lithuania is more reticent than we
would like in supporting democracy and human rights outside
of the region. In areas such as promotion of U.S.
investment, encouraging transparency and tolerance, and
cultivating Lithuania's next generation of leaders, however,
we need to continue to press in this coming year and beyond.
Below is our work plan, organized by major policy goal, for
the engagement of government leaders and the pursuit of
Mission objectives.
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Active in Global War on Terror
------------------------------
Â¶4. (C) Our key priority remains maximizing Lithuania's
contribution to global peace and security. Lithuania's
leadership of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Ghor,
Afghanistan continues to be its most significant contribution
to global collective security. Lithuania has expanded its
presence and responsibilities in Afghanistan, taking over all
financial responsibility for the PRT in 2007 and has
responded to NATO's call for more combat capability in the
south by deploring its Special Operations Forces (SOF) to
Zabul province. Besides making Lithuania a provider, rather
than just a consumer of security, the experience of operating
the PRT has helped drive Lithuania's defense transformation
in ways that will make it a stronger NATO contributor in the
future. Lithuania also made the difficult decision to
re-deploy troops to Iraq and remain committed in Kosovo.
Â¶5. (C) In 2008, we plan to build on those past
accomplishments by reinforcing political and public support
for Lithuania's participation in these multinational
operations. Our main challenge will be to ensure Lithuania
stays engaged in Iraq The Defense Minister has already
announced that Lithuania will take an "operational pause"
following the return of the current deployment in May and
until after the autumn elections. Given the withdrawal of
other European forces from Iraq, we are concerned such a
"pause" will be hard to reverse. In Afghanistan, we will
encourage the GOL to expand its capacity to deliver security
by including a training element in its SOF deployment. We
also intend to promote the GOL's continued development of
niche capabilities within NATO, and to urge Parliament to
provide adequate resources so it can pay both for foreign
deployments and for defense transformation needs at home. We
will use our limited IMET, FMS, FMF resources as efficiently
as possible.
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Building democracy abroad...
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Â¶6. (C) The government continued to champion freedom closer
to home in 2007 through its commitment to the promotion of
democracy and Western values within the former Soviet Union.
President Adamkus consulted closely with us as he personally
worked with the leaders of new democracies in the former
Soviet space, especially in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. We
worked with the Foreign Ministry and the President's staff to
help them to de-escalate tensions in Georgia and help prepare
for elections, and to encourage proportionate responses to
what Lithuania and some of its neighbors view as Russian
meddling in the region.
Â¶7. (C) This year, we will continue to encourage and support
the GOL's active role in promoting democratic institutions
and human rights in its neighbors in Eastern Europe and the
Caucasus. We will work with the GOL to bolster its
credibility within the European Union as an expert on
democratic transformation in Eastern Europe as well as the
(more touchy) issue of Russia-EU relations. We will continue
to discourage impulses in some parts of the government to
pursue an engagement strategy with Belarus's regime without
consultation with us and the EU.
Â¶8. (C) Lithuania is devoted to democracy and human rights.
Nevertheless, it tends to limit its support for these goals
to its immediate neighborhood. As an EU member, Lithuania
has the potential to promote these goals more globally. Last
year, we succeeded in blunting an effort by some in Lithuania
to recognize Cuba. This year, we will continue to encourage
Lithuania to speak up on democracy and human rights issues
whether in the Greater Middle East, Burma, Cuba, or elsewhere.
--------------
...and at Home
--------------
Â¶9. (SBU) We also want to help Lithuania develop a more
mature and resilient political system domestically. Although
Lithuania boasts a strong and active democracy and an
independent (albeit, at times, irresponsible) media, areas of
concern remain. In particular, Lithuania needs to tackle
corruption, especially in the police force, develop a more
responsive prosecutor general's office, and strengthen the
Special Investigation Service, which is charged with
investigating corruption but seldom brings significant cases.
Other blemishes on Lithuania's democratic record are
intolerance and a reluctance to deal with the historical
events that devastated Lithuania's once vibrant Jewish
community. In 2008, a draft law on the restitution of Jewish
communal property remains stalled. While we have succeeded
in getting the GOL to take seriously Jewish objections to
proposed developm'RbQcpYJut in defense of civil society and
euro-atlantic values. We will continue to confront
intolerance by featuring that issue as a core theme of our
speeches and outreach programs. We will push the government
to reach a negotiated solution to concerns about developing
the Snipiskes Jewish cemetery and to encourage the
promulgation and enactment of a new law on the restitution of
Jewish communal property confiscated since World War II.
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Developing a Positive Agenda on Visa Policy
-------------------------------------------
Â¶11. (SBU) Keeping Lithuania at the frontlines of the global
struggle for freedom will require us to remain responsive to
issues about which Lithuanians care. The most prominent of
these remains Lithuania's desire for inclusion in the Visa
Waiver Program (VWP). In 2007, we made significant progress
in getting the GOL to address its responsibility to provide
better data sharing on lost and stolen passports and on other
security issues. The GOL sent a senior-level delegation to
Washington in December 2007 to meet with State and Homeland
Security to clarify the way forward. In 2008 we will
continue to work with the GOL and DHS to create the
conditions under which the VWP will be possible for
Lithuania, and anticipate hosting DHS teams in the coming
months to work with the Lithuanian government. We will also
undertake a public relations program to educate Lithuanian
citizens and officials on what exactly the VWP includes and
what it does not.
-------------------------------
Promote U.S. Economic Interests
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Â¶12. (SBU) The U.S. role in the Lithuanian economy remains
underdeveloped and we hope to change that. We will actively
engage the government in areas most promising for U.S.
investment, like energy, and urge the GOL to ensure that the
tender for a planned new nuclear power plant is transparent,
giving U.S. companies a fair opportunity to compete. We will
continue our efforts to energize the AmCham to be a more
effective advocate for investment and creating the
preconditions for increased investment. We will also
continue to press the GOL to change the residency law which
prohibits dependents of U.S. residents in Lithuania,
including investors and businesspeople, from joining them in
Lithuania for two years.
Â¶13. (SBU) We have been disappointed by the limits (largely
due to funding and staffing shortages) of regional support by
other agencies, but will continue to try to engage our
partner FCS post in Warsaw to encourage U.S. business
visitors and private trade missions to Eastern Europe to
include Lithuania in their itineraries. We will also team
with U.S. businesses to help them win their share of the
commercially significant deals that come up for bid this year.
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Support for Law Enforcement
---------------------------
Â¶14. (C) In 2007 we made substantial progress in our efforts
to support Lithuanian law enforcement, as the FBI and other
law enforcement agencies intensified their activity here. In
the current year we plan to expand our training initiatives
with law enforcement officials, with a view to make the
national police and the GOL's anti-corruption service more
effective and active partners. We will also continue our
joint work with the GOL to combat the root causes and
mitigate the effects of trafficking in persons, public
corruption, cyber and organized crime.
--------------------
Getting out the Word
--------------------
Â¶15. (SBU) Underlying all our goals is an effective public
relations strategy to generate broad public support for U.S.
policy goals in Lithuania and elsewhere. A recent poll
sponsored by the Public Affairs Section suggests that
Lithuanians' approval of the United States and support for
Lithuania's contributions to U.S. initiatives abroad is
directly and positively related to whether the respondent has
met an American. The Ambassador has accelerated his travel
program to reach all of Lithuania's larger cities and remote
communities that receive official visits less frequently.
Â¶16. (SBU) The Ambassador has also stepped up his visibility
in the press, with interviews in prominent magazines and
dailies, and on television. He and his Mission colleagues
have also been active in promoting post's cultural programs.
During 2008, we will continue with our post speaker's bureau,
which involves the entire embassy community in speaking to
audiences all over Lithuania about various topics -- from
science and education in the United States to foreign policy
and democracy building abroad. We will also work with
private groups on both sides of the Atlantic to expand the
range and incidence of U.S.-Lithuanian youth exchanges.
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Effective Embassy Operating Conditions
--------------------------------------
Â¶17. (SBU) In 2007, we moved into the new American Center,
allowing the public affairs section to relocate to the
embassy compound, and received funding for the upgrade of the
archaic, stained, and crumbling chancery building. In 2008,
we will begin renovation of the chancery. We will continue
to work with the Department to try to remedy the fire safety
and anti-terror vulnerabilities of our building that have
been allowed to continue in the past.
Â¶18. (SBU) Our main personnel challenge will be to retain our
best FSN personnel in the face of high wage growth on the
local economy. We have not received funds for an FSN wage
increase since March 2004. In addition, we need to increase
on-line and other training opportunities for our best FSNs to
ensure that we can empower them in the future.
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Conclusion
----------
Â¶19. (C) Lithuania remains one of our nation's most loyal and
consistent allies on many issues that matter to us. In the
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world's most dangerous places, Lithuania still stands
shoulder to shoulder with the United States. The above work
plan outlines our strategy for preserving the strong
friendship we enjoy here, for ensuring the continued support
of GOL on key foreign policy goals, and for tackling issues
of concern that affect U.S. interests in Lithuania. We
believe the strategy outlined here will yield an even
stronger and more durable bilateral relationship in 2008.
CLOUD